--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is something about the present…" description: "\"There is something about the present which we would not exchange, though we were offered a choice of all past ages to live in.\" — Virginia Woolf" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/virginia-woolf-49_age_there-is-something-about-the-present-whi_2671092.jpg" --- # There is something about the present which we would not… ![“There is something about the present which we would not exchange, though we were offered a choice of all past ages to live in.” quote by Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/virginia-woolf-49_age_there-is-something-about-the-present-whi_2671092.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/virginia-woolf-49_age_there-is-something-about-the-present-whi_2671092.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/virginia-woolf-49_age_there-is-something-about-the-present-whi_2671092.jpg) > “There is something about the present which we would not exchange, though we were offered a choice of all past ages to live in.” [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker prefers the present over any past era, valuing lived experience despite the allure of other times. **In simple terms:** The present is valued more than any past age. Key Takeaway Appreciate the current moment. Themes present time choice nostalgia existence Mood contemplative appreciative Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - daily life - historical study - personal growth - creative writing Key Concepts temporal perspective philosophical reflection Questions to Reflect On - What makes the present unique? - How do you balance past lessons with present living? A Different Perspective May romanticize the present, ignoring its flaws. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Choice Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice-past-2502840/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Offered Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offered-choice-407973/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past Ages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-ages-379708/) [Present Exchange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-exchange-2502841/) ## Related quotes > [“the human is offered a choice: they can get revenge on me, or they can accept their pain and continue their journey”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wade/the-human-is-offered-a-choice-they-can-get-revenge-on-me-or-they-can/) [Tobias Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wade/) > [“Have you made a choice in your past which was right at the time, but once you had a chance to think about it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/have-you-made-a-choice-in-your-past-which-was-right-at-the-time-but/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [“You have a choice to move beyond the past. You have a choice to move beyond the pain from the past. The pain you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-n-joy/you-have-a-choice-to-move-beyond-the-past-you-have-a-choice-to-move/) [E.N. Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-n-joy/) > [I was offered a choice of a flat salary up front or a percentage of the film's future earnings. I took the up front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-pleasence/i-was-offered-a-choice-of-a-flat-salary-up-front-or-a-percentage-of/) [Donald Pleasence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-pleasence/) > [After my cancer diagnosis this year, I was offered a choice of treatments. I wanted to make an informed decision. This meant reading scientific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-monbiot/after-my-cancer-diagnosis-this-year-i-was-offered-a-choice-of/) [George Monbiot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-monbiot/) > [“When offered the choice of being fair with you or taking more for themselves, most people will take more for themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/when-offered-the-choice-of-being-fair-with-you-or-taking-more-for/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“If you believe our cause so hopeless, why join us?" "Because you offered something I had forgotten could be offered, a choice. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-ryan/if-you-believe-our-cause-so-hopeless-why-join-us-because-you-offered/) [Anthony Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-ryan/) > [If the past year were offered me again, And choice of good and ill before me set Would I accept the pleasure with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-the-past-year-were-offered-me-again-and-choice-of-good-and-ill/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So easy it is to see the errors of past ages, so difficult to acknowledge our own!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/so-easy-it-is-to-see-the-errors-of-past-ages-so-difficult-to/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [“We look on past ages with condescension, as a mere preparation for us…but what if we are a mere after-glow of them?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-farrell/we-look-on-past-ages-with-condescension-as-a-mere-preparation-for-us/) [J.G. Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-farrell/) > [What we call wisdom is the result of all the wisdom of past ages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/what-we-call-wisdom-is-the-result-of-all-the-wisdom-of-past-ages/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [What we call wisdom is the result of all the wisdom of past ages. Our best institutions are like young trees growing upon the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/what-we-call-wisdom-is-the-result-of-all-the-wisdom-of-past-ages-our/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [The experience of past ages may inform us, that when the circumstances of a people render them distressed, their rulers generally recur to severe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-experience-of-past-ages-may-inform-us-that-when-the-circumstances/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Not to know what has been transacted in former times is to be always a child. If no use is made of the labors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/not-to-know-what-has-been-transacted-in-former-times-is-to-be-always/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [There's been periods of broadcasts in the past where you could see all ages of entertainers, ranging from George Burns to Shirley Temple. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-haggard/there-s-been-periods-of-broadcasts-in-the-past-where-you-could-see/) [Merle Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-haggard/) ## More by Virginia Woolf > [Fatigue is the safest sleeping draught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/fatigue-is-the-safest-sleeping-draught/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“The train slows and lengthens, as we approach London, the centre, and my heart draws out too, in fear, in exaltation. I am about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-train-slows-and-lengthens-as-we-approach-london-the-centre-and-my/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Across the broad continent of a woman's life falls the shadow of a sword. On one side all is correct, definite, orderly; the paths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/across-the-broad-continent-of-a-woman-s-life-falls-the-shadow-of-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Other worshipful objects were content with worship; men, women, God, all let one kneel prostrate; but this form, were it only the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/other-worshipful-objects-were-content-with-worship-men-women-god-all/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Why does Samuel Butler say, 'Wise men never say what they think of women'? Wise men never say anything else apparently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-does-samuel-butler-say-wise-men-never-say-what-they-think-of/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Sometimes he woke with a brain like lead; at others it was as if a thousand wax tapers were alight and people were throwing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/sometimes-he-woke-with-a-brain-like-lead-at-others-it-was-as-if-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The extraordinary woman depends on the ordinary woman. It is only when we know what were the conditions of the average woman's life -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-extraordinary-woman-depends-on-the-ordinary-woman-it-is-only-when/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [A veil of insanity everywhere: Oh why I was born in this age? It is a terrible age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-veil-of-insanity-everywhere-oh-why-i-was-born-in-this-age-it-is-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Love ought to stop on both sides, don’t you think, simultaneously?’ He spoke without any stress on the words, so as not to wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/love-ought-to-stop-on-both-sides-don-t-you-think-simultaneously-he/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“It is so vast an alleviation to be able to point for another to look at. And then not to talk. To follow the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/it-is-so-vast-an-alleviation-to-be-able-to-point-for-another-to-look/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“What a vast fertility of pleasure books hold for me! (...) I think I could happily live here & read forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-vast-fertility-of-pleasure-books-hold-for-me-i-think-i-could/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“what a luxury to be alone once more,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-luxury-to-be-alone-once-more/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“...a woman writing thinks back through her mothers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-woman-writing-thinks-back-through-her-mothers/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“For one's children so often gave one's own perceptions a little thrust forwards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/for-one-s-children-so-often-gave-one-s-own-perceptions-a-little/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“She would not say of anyone in the world now that they were this or were that. She felt very young; at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-would-not-say-of-anyone-in-the-world-now-that-they-were-this-or/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) [Explore all 1,872 Virginia Woolf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is something about the present which we would not exchange, though we were offered a choice of all past ages to live in.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Virginia Woolf" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/there-is-something-about-the-present-which-we-would-not-exchange/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/there-is-something-about-the-present-which-we-would-not-exchange/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/virginia-woolf-49_age_there-is-something-about-the-present-whi_2671092.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/virginia-woolf-49_age_there-is-something-about-the-present-whi_2671092.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/virginia-woolf-49_age_there-is-something-about-the-present-whi_2671092.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is something about the present which we would not exchange, though we were offered a choice of all…” — Virginia Woolf", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Virginia Woolf", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is something about the present...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/there-is-something-about-the-present-which-we-would-not-exchange/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/there-is-something-about-the-present-which-we-would-not-exchange/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```